B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Purchases 52,951 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 38.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 192,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 52,951 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.73.

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Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $115.82. 6,648,556 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,545,188. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $128.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.